Gut microbiota changes associated with infection and its various treatment strategies.

Human gut microbiota are critical to both the development of and recovery from infection (CDI). Antibiotics are the mainstay of CDI treatment, yet inherently cause further imbalances in the gut microbiota, termed dysbiosis, complicating recovery. A variety of microbiota-based therapeutic approaches are in use or in development to limit disease- and treatment-associated dysbiosis and improve rates of sustained cure.

Paired or Pooled Analyses in Continuing Medical Education, Which One is Better?

In data analyses, pairing participant responses is often thought to yield the purest results. However, ensuring all participants answer all questions can be challenging. Concerns exist that pooling all responses together may diminish the robustness of a statistical analysis, but the practical insights may still exist.

Measuring the Impact of a Pharmacist-Driven Blood Factor Education Program: A Prospective, Single-Center Observational Study.

Patients with bleeding disorders are best served by multidisciplinary teams. Pharmacists can play a critical role in the optimal management of patients with bleeding disorders through blood factor stewardship strategies and programs. An educational program was developed and implemented wherein a hematology pharmacist provided brief recorded lectures to an entire department of pharmacists in a multi-site health-system with the goal to improve the knowledge base and confidence among this population of general practitioners.

Prevalence, characteristics, and health-related quality of life of continuous glucose monitoring use according to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2014-2020.

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) can improve behavioral and clinical outcomes. The use of CGM in real-world practice appears to be increasing. However, actual prevalence and characteristics of using CGM in real-world practice are unknown.

Design and Preclinical Evaluation of Nicotine-Stearic Acid Conjugate-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for Transdermal Delivery: A Technical Note.

This study aimed to develop and evaluate nicotine--stearic acid conjugate-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (NSA-SLNs) for transdermal delivery in nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Nicotine conjugation to stearic acid prior to SLN formulation greatly increased drug loading. SLNs loaded with a nicotine-stearic acid conjugate were characterized for size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential (ZP), entrapment efficiency, and morphology.

Application of lean principles in a medicare insurance counseling service learning course.

Background: Lean principles are increasingly applied in healthcare to improve quality and cost. A service-learning course providing Medicare insurance counseling requiring rapid transformation due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for pharmacy students to apply lean skills.

Educational Activity: Students, already introduced to lean skills earlier in their curriculum, enrolled in the insurance education certificate during their third year in Fall 2020.

Association between mental health and self-care behavior among older adults with diabetes according to Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2019.

Aim: To assess the association of mental health burden with diabetes-related self-care behaviors and healthcare utilization among older adults.

Method: This cross-sectional 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) study included ≥ 65 years old adults with self-reported diabetes. Three groups were used based on the number of days in the past month affected by mental health: 0 days (no burden), 1-13 days (occasional burden), and 14-30 days (frequent burden).

Specialty pharmacy: Incorporating workflow management and medication access into pharmacy lecture and laboratory courses.

Background And Purpose: The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate a specialty pharmacy workshop across pharmacy management and skills lab courses.

Educational Activity And Setting: A specialty pharmacy workshop was developed and implemented. The lecture cohort (fall 2019) consisted of a 90-min lecture in pharmacy management.

New Drugs Approved in 2022.

In 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 37 novel drugs. Twenty-four of the 37 (65%) novel drug approvals were reviewed and approved through an expedited review pathway and 20 of the 37 (54%) were approved for treatment of a rare disease. This review includes a summary of the novel drugs approved by the FDA in 2022.

The effect of a plasma next-generation sequencing test on antimicrobial management in immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients-A single-center retrospective study.

Objective: To describe the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and to determine whether NGS leads to changes in antimicrobial management.

Design And Setting: This retrospective cohort study included patients aged ≥18 years admitted to a single tertiary-care center in Houston, Texas, with an NGS test performed between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018.

Patients: In total, 167 NGS tests were performed.

Chronic haloperidol administration downregulates select BDNF transcript and protein levels in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of rhesus monkeys.

Post-mortem studies in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampal formation from schizophrenia patients have revealed significant disruptions in the expression molecules associated with cytoarchitecture, synaptic structure, function, and plasticity, known to be regulated in part by brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Interestingly, several studies using postmortem brain tissue from individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia have revealed a significant reduction in mRNA and protein levels in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), hippocampus and related areas; however, differentiating the effects of illness from antipsychotic history has remained difficult. We hypothesized that chronic antipsychotic treatment may contribute to the altered mRNA and protein expression observed in post-mortem brains of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.

National Disparities in Antibiotic Prescribing by Race, Ethnicity, Age Group, and Sex in United States Ambulatory Care Visits, 2009 to 2016.

While efforts have been made in the United States (US) to optimize antimicrobial use, few studies have explored antibiotic prescribing disparities that may drive future interventions. The objective of this study was to evaluate disparities in antibiotic prescribing among US ambulatory care visits by patient subgroups. This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study utilizing the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2009 to 2016.

Emerging Options for the Prevention and Management of Clostridioides difficile Infection.

Agents in development for the prevention or treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection can be split into three broad categories: antibiotics, microbiome restoration, and vaccines. Given the extensive list of agents currently in development, this narrative review will focus on agents that have progressed into late-stage clinical trials, defined as having a Phase III clinical trial registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Time-to-therapy discontinuation in patients newly diagnosed with schizophrenia initiated on long-acting injectable versus oral dopamine receptor blocking agents.

Aim: The purpose of this project is to assess the time-to-therapy discontinuation and hospital readmission rate among patients newly diagnosed with schizophrenia who are prescribed long-acting injectable versus oral dopamine receptor blocking agents.

Methods: A retrospective review of medical records was performed for adult patients admitted to an 80-bed inpatient behavioural health facility with a new diagnosis of schizophrenia. The primary outcome studied was time to therapy discontinuation within 1 year of discharge, while secondary outcomes assessed were time-to-therapy discontinuation within 90 days and readmission rate at 30-days, 6 months, and 1 year.

Clinical characteristics, microbiology and outcomes of a cohort of patients treated with ceftolozane/tazobactam in acute care inpatient facilities, Houston, Texas, USA.

Background: Ceftolozane/tazobactam is a β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor combination with activity against a variety of Gram-negative bacteria, including MDR . This agent is approved for hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia. However, most real-world outcome data come from small observational cohorts.

β-Lactamase Suppression as a Strategy to Target Methicillin-Resistant : Proof of Concept.

β-Lactamase (penicillinase) renders early, natural β-lactams like penicillin G useless against methicillin-resistant (MRSA), which also expresses PBP2a, responsible for resistance to semisynthetic, penicillinase-insensitive β-lactams like oxacillin. Antimicrobial discovery is difficult, and resistance exists against most treatment options. Enhancing β-lactams against MRSA would revive its clinical utility.

Transition from in-person to telehealth standardized patient encounters: A retrospective analysis of 18 cases.

Introduction: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many pedagogical activities shifted from in-person to virtual modalities, including standardized patient (SP) encounters. While many academic institutions may not have previously been conducting SP encounters virtually, this change provided student pharmacists with new opportunities to learn and practice telehealth techniques, which are important with the continuously evolving healthcare landscape.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed pharmacy student performance on and perceptions of SP cases in fall 2019 (in-person) and fall 2020 (telehealth) semesters.

Trends in authorship characteristics and collaboration in pharmacy practice publications: 2011-2020.

Background: Research and scholarly publications are core expectations in academia that often require collaboration. While the number of authors per document (NAPD) has increased in every discipline, co-authorship culture and collaboration patterns vary among disciplines and countries.

Objectives: To determine the trends in the patterns and characteristics of authorship and collaborations in United States' pharmacy practice faculty publications from 2011 to 2020.

Tirzepatide, the Newest Medication for Type 2 Diabetes: A Review of the Literature and Implications for Clinical Practice.

Objective: The objective of this article was to review pharmacology, efficacy, safety, and place in therapy of tirzepatide, a dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist.

Data Sources: PubMed/MEDLINE and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched through September 7, 2022, using the keyword "tirzepatide.

Tricyclic Antidepressant Overdose Manikin Simulation in Student Pharmacists.

Pharmacists must be knowledgeable of medication use within the scope of both typical dosing and atypical dosing. In the United States, antidepressants are the fourth most common substance in overdose situations and are ranked first for serious exposures per year. The purpose of this study is to design, implement, and assess the efficacy of an antidepressant overdose simulation using a high-fidelity manikin.

Advances in in-vitro bioequivalence testing methods for complex ophthalmic generic products.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) demands that the generic industry prove topical ocular products' pharmaceutical and bioequivalence (BE). In contrast to generic oral drugs, topical ocular product BE testing has proved difficult. New generic versions are compared to an authorized drug product known as a Reference Listed Drug (RLD) to demonstrate their bioequivalence.

Implementing medicare education for medication access: A review of the literature using the RE-AIM framework.

Background: The rising cost of medications has a disproportionate effect on community-dwelling older adults despite policy changes designed to improve medication access. Medicare insurance counseling provided by pharmacists, including individualized plan comparison and enrollment assistance, improves medication adherence and health care utilization, yet only 15% of community dwelling older adults report using a pharmacy or pharmacist for Medicare information. To determine what information is available to inform expanding implementation of pharmacy as a resource for Medicare insurance counseling, a systematic review of published studies using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework was conducted.

Difelikefalin: A New κ-Opioid Receptor Agonist for the Treatment of Hemodialysis-Dependent Chronic Kidney Disease-Associated Pruritus.

Objective: To review data for difelikefalin (Korsuva) intravenous solution for management of moderate-to-severe pruritus in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Data Sources: Literature search of PubMed (January 1946-May 2022) and SCOPUS (January 1946-May 2022) was performed using the terms: Korsuva, CR845, and difelikefalin. Additional information sources include ClinicalTrials.